SHO on the Web

 

ANTWERP, BELGIUM
Monday, June 23

by Salvador Trepat

"What a show and what a setlist," someone wrote to review the previous show in Hamburg. What else can be said? Antwerp was just the best show that I've seen on this tour. Simply amazing. At 8:47 Bruce came onstage, with black armbands on, while Max was pounding the drums. After the initial spoken introduction Bruce started a frenetic version of "So Young and In Love" that really set the tone for the night. Pure energy. Air kicking, great singing, and the band in prime shape. "Radio Nowhere" followed, and then a great "The Ties That Bind", with lots of guitars and the great sax solo from the Big Man. The energy level never dropped for a second for the rest of the night. Add to this a great set list and lots of surprises, with so muchÊvintage '70s stuff. We got a really uptempo, jubilant "Spirit in the Night" that reminded me so much of the Hammersmith'75 video; a really well performed "Trapped," with a great blue spotlight on Bruce that made it look like The River tour, a nicely done "Sandy" (upon request, he showed the sign) which Bruce introduced saying "Thanks for all the condolences for Danny," and laughing, "The E Street Band is always ready... most of the time!"

This was followed by a very hot "Prove it All Night", with smokin' guitar solos from both Steven and Bruce, a very intense call and response. At the end of the song Bruce picked up a sign that read "Steve Forever." Bruce announced, "We're gonna play one that we haven't played in a long time" and asked the videocrew to focus on a huge sign in the crowd behind Max: "Thundercrack". This is the first time he ever played the song in Europe, and it was perfect, a pure musical joy. Bruce looked real happy tonight, giving the impression that he was enjoying it all tremendously. "Because the Night" came next and featured the usual out-of-this-world solo from Nils. What can I say? At this point of the show there were no more superlatives left. We were in awe. Such a show. In Europe. In Belgium. In the middle of a huge stadium tour, and Bruce delivers such an intense and wonderful show like only those in small arenas in the U.S. last Spring.

The overall feeling at this small arena was quite a change from that on the big stadiums. It added an intimacy and proximity that it's completely lost at other shows, and an extra amount of energy and crowd feedback that was acknowledged by Bruce at the end of the night. The heat was acknowledged, too.ÊDuring "Living in the Future" Bruce used a yellow sponge to water everyone on the front rows. He did this a few times during the show, and also brought glasses with water to the people in front of the small stage.Ê

After a strong "Mary's Place" (even this one sounded great at this show), Bruce jokingly started mopping the floor that he had watered so much! Next were these words: "Yesterday I was in a square, and two girls asked for this," leading into a very fun, sing-along version of "Fire." "Point Blank" (another sign request) was next, and it was simply stunning. Perfect sound, perfectly performed, you could hear every note from Garry's beautiful bass lines, like a heart beating.

The encore started with a very familiar drum pounding and "a one, a two, a one, two, three, four!" And "I'm a Rocker" begins, putting us in shock. Very, very strong, Bruce really into it, moving around the stage and in front of the audience like crazy. People singing along to this great piece of rock that very rarely gets played at his concerts. It was a tour premiere, followed by "Born to Run" and then "Thunder Road," really well played. "Glory Days" put everyone on their feet, even in the most distant seats, and then "American Land."Ê

At one point during the encores Bruce took another sign from the audience that read, "The Bada Bing Team is Here!" and got quite a big laugh from Steven. The sign thing is now out of control. There are literally dozens and dozens of signs, and Bruce picks many of them and, as we know, decides to play them.ÊSeen in Antwerp, requests for: "Thundercrack," "Rave On," "Pretty Flamingo," "Sandy," "Rosie," "Brothers Under the Bridges ('83)," "Incident," "Rickie Wants a Man of Her Own," "Detroit Medley," "Little Queenie," "Viva Las Vegas," "Murder Inc.," "Loose Ends," "Lost in the Flood," "Sweet Little Sixteen," and "Blinded By the Light."